Jackie Kay graduated from the University of Stirling with a BA in English Studies in 1983. She writes extensively for stage, screen, and for children. Her first book of poetry, The Adoption Papers, won the Saltire Society Award for best first book in 1992. She was awarded an Honorary Degree from the University in 2000, and became an MBE in 2006.

Jackie won the 2011 Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Award (Non-Fiction) for Red Dust Road, an account of her search for her natural parents. She was appointed Chancellor of Salford University in 2015 for a 5-year term, in addition to a role as the University's writer-in-residence and her position as Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University.

In 2016 Jackie Kay was appointed the new Scots Makar (Scottish version of the Poet Laureate). The Scots Makar position was established in 2004 by the Scottish Parliament and involves promoting poetry throughout the country and encouraging young people to engage with the art form.

After her appointment as Scots Makar, Jackie featured in the 2016 edition of Stirling Minds, the University's alumni magazine.